


Day 14- Nonverbal

by Broken_Clover



Series: Autistic Creative Challenge 2019 [14]
Category: Guilty Gear
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Autistic Creative Challenge, Friendship, Gen, Nonverbal Communication, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 14:18:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18470674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Broken_Clover/pseuds/Broken_Clover
Summary: Kum Haehyun, by far, had to be one of the weirdest people that Jam had ever met.





	Day 14- Nonverbal

Kum Haehyun, by far, had to be one of the weirdest people that Jam had ever met.

Although, to be fair, she was pretty sure that it would be hard to top someone who walked around in a human-shaped robot in terms of weirdness. She still couldn’t figure out what the purpose was. If Haehyun wanted a disguise, Jam was sure that there was a much easier way to do that without making such an elaborate contraption. But, again, Haehyun was a rather peculiar girl.

Not that any sort of oddness had stopped Jam from befriending her. She liked making friends, and Haehyun’s philosophies were interesting to listen to, even if she could only hear them while she was in the mech.

That was another little peculiarity. As soon as she steps out of Jonryoku, Haehyun doesn’t talk. For the longest time, Jam wondered if it was that she just couldn’t. Maybe part of the reason she used the robot was because she wasn’t able to communicate normally. That wasn’t particularly accurate, as Jam found out during one of their lunches together.

“Jonryoku has a text-to-speech program, you are correct.” Haehyun had said. Her restaurant was empty aside from them, so it was one of the few times Haehyun was willing to mention the robot. “But I am not mute.”

“Then why don’t you talk?”

“I have Jonryoku, isn’t that more or less the same?” From her place in the cockpit, Haehyun’s expression turned pensive as she typed. “It’s a bit hard to explain. I understand words perfectly fine. I can use sign language if I need to.” Her fingers hovered over the keys for a good minute. “I can make noises with my mouth. I just can’t talk the way that you do.”

Jam tilted her head. “Is there something wrong with you?” She immediately flinched, realizing how callous she had come across. “I’m sorry, I-I mean-”

“It’s fine.” The girl’s expression was still hard to read, and it was making Jam concerned. “The Kum family is already in such disarray. Many of them don’t like that someone so young is leading them. I’m pretty sure I’m autistic, but I’ve never sought out a formal diagnosis. If the family found out, I just know they’d try to claim I’m unfit as a leader and fall back into chaos again…”

She hadn’t asked any more questions after that. Instead, she’d asked about Tuning. 

Tuning seemed to be Haehyun’s passion, and part of the reason she was so skilled at it. She was happy to start talking about some of the finer aspects of it- taking a moment to comment on the quality of Jam’s well-tended strings (she wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but it definitely seemed like a compliment).

It was interesting to watch the person that Haehyun became when she doesn’t have the weight of her family or the impending apocalypse perched on her shoulders. She seemed happier when they just spent casual time together, eating or sharing magical techniques. She’d started giving Jam lessons on sign language, if she so wished. Jam certainly did, and it was about that point where it felt like Haehyun was truly opening up to her. In her sharp and concise hand movements, she asked Jam questions about life. Did she always want to stay a cook? How had she decided on the career? Did she have any hobbies? What sorts of interesting people did she meet?

There was another sort of peculiarity to it, seeing Haehyun acting like a kid. But Haehyun was a teenager, and not even wise ones knew the answers to everything. Jam was happy to answer as many questions as she could. Haehyun listened with rapt attention, wearing a faint smile at Jam’s stories. If there was a response that made her especially happy, she would clasp her hands together, sometimes making little chirping noises or gasping sounds.

Along with Tuning, Jam soon discovered another of the girl’s talents- music. She had thought the large instrument had been just for Tuning, but Haehyun was quite skilled in string music. When she played, the girl looked like she was off in her own little world, caring about nothing but the melody. Jam asked for songs as often as she could get away with. The music was incredibly beautiful, but it was just as much to watch Haehyun smile so brightly, fingers gently fanning across the board and plucking strings with meticulous care.

Sometimes, if she listens closely, Jam can almost hear Haehyun humming along with the music.


End file.
